RepRaps, Makerbots, Printrbots, String-drawing robots… you see these devices all over the open-source hardware world these days, and yo know what they have in common? Stepper motors. They’re relatively cheap, precise, powerful, and … a son-f-a-gun to make move properly. But since big IC companies also see how useful they are, there’s a large variety of ways to connect and power the 4, 6, & 8 wires that are needed to make a stepper motor move. And Pololu does a great job of making boards that use these chips!

Specifications:

• Proven Allegro A4988 Stepper Motor IC
• Simple and proven “Step” and “Direction” control method
• High-temperature thermal shutdown, under-voltage lockout, and crossover current protection
• Built-in short protection
• 8-35VDC input
• 1.0A continuous current per phase (no heatsink nor airflow cooling)
• 2.0A continuous current per phase (with adequate heat-sinking/cooling)
• 3-5.5V logic input
• full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 microstepping modes
• Unsoldered (but included) header pins

For more current-handling capacity in exactly the same footprint, see the “Black” edition